Couscous with halloumi & fried red pepper

For ➍

4 red peppers, cut into strips

335 g whole grain couscous

40 g raisins

40 g almonds, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped

20 sprigs fresh cilantro, finely chopped

2 limes

250 g halloumi, cut into 1-2 cm cubes

125 g fat yogurt

70 cl vegetable stock

3 tbs olive oil

4 tbs extra virgin olive oil

pepper & salt

Grate the zest of the lime. Squeeze the lime.

In a salad bowl, mix the couscous and raisins with the stock and allow to soak, covered, for 10 m. Then stir with a fork.

Heat ½ of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the pepper strips 7 - 9 m. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in another frying pan over medium heat and fry the lime zest and garlic for 30 s.

Add the cubes of halloumi, fry for 3 - 4 m until crispy. Then remove them from the pan.

Fry the soaked couscous 1 - 2 m in the same pan in the lime-garlic oil.

Mix the coriander with the couscous and season with the extra virgin olive oil, pepper and salt.

Divide the couscous over the plates and scoop the bell pepper strips on the side. Drizzle the couscous with the lime juice and garnish with the halloumi and almonds. Serve the yogurt separately, so that everyone can add it to their own taste.

Grilled cauliflower with ras-el-hanout & halloumi

For ➋
1 (500 g) cauliflower
200 g halloumi
100 g pumpkin seeds
3 cloves garlic
2 tbs ras-el-hanout
olive oil

Bring water to a boil and preheat the oven to 180 ° C. Cut the cauliflower into large florets. Boil it in water for about 5 m. Drain and add a generous dash of olive oil to the cauliflower. Season with 2 tbs ras-el-hanout.* Stir thoroughly but gently, so that the cauliflower florets are completely covered with the yellow spice mixture.
Spoon the cauliflower into an oven dish and place in the oven for 20 m. Do not wash the cooking pot yet.
Finely chop the garlic and dice the halloumi. Take the cooking pot with some fat and ras el hanout and fry the garlic and the pumpkin seeds about 2 m. Add the halloumi. Bake for a few m until warm inside.
Spoon the cheese mixture between the cauliflower florets and serve.

* Mix 3 tbs oil with 2 tbs ras-el-hanout, and spread over the cauliflower. Or mix ras-el-hanout with some yogurt.

Halloumi saganaki

For ➍-➑
2-3 tbs olive oil
225 g block halloumi or kefalotiri cheese
1 small free-range egg, beaten
3 tbs fine semolina
2 tbs clear honey
1 ts black sesame seeds
1 ts dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan.
Cut the halloumi horizontally through the middle. Dip the halloumi slices in the beaten egg then roll in the semolina. Fry on a medium heat for a couple of m on each side until golden-brown.
In a separate small pan, warm the honey. Serve the halloumi cut into squares, drizzled with warm honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds, oregano and black pepper.
Serve as a special mezze.

Halloumi salad with sweet chilli sauce

For ➋
3 fresh red chilli peppers
2 tbs liquid honey
1 lime, halved
1 block of halloumi 225 g
salad leaves of your choice
extra virgin olive oil to taste

Cut 2 chillies with seeds into rings. Remove the seeds from the third and cut the pepper into small pieces (this to get the full sharpness, remove if desired more seeds). Put the peppers in a small pan with a thick bottom, together with the honey, and squeeze 1 ts lime juice from a lime half on top. Put the pan on the smallest pit of the stove and bring the contents to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 4 m. Stir frequently and keep an eye on the pan, otherwise the contents will foam over the edge. Remove the pan from the heat.
Put a few salad leaves on 2 plates and pour as much oil as you want.
Cut the unused lime half into pieces and if desired place a piece on each plate.
Cut the block halloumi into 8 pieces. Heat a frying pan of cast iron or with a thick bottom. Put the slices in the hot pan and fry them without oil for 30-60 s, until the bottom has brown stripes. Turn the slices over and bake the other side until it is brown.
Put the halloumi on the lettuce and spoon the lipstick red chunks of chilli in their honey glaze over the cheese. Eat the dish immediately.

A more modest version without sauce.

Light avocado & tomato salad

For ➋-➍ as salad or side-dish
1 tbs minced shallot
1 tbs minced fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
½ ts Dijon mustard*
½ ts maple syrup
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
270 g gourmet tomato medley**
1 large avocado, pitted & thinly sliced
1 tbs fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish)
100 g feta, crumbled***
salt & pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, combine the minced shallot, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and chopped parsley. Very slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Wash and pat dry the gourmet medley tomatoes. Slice the small tomatoes in half, and quarter the larger ones. Place the tomatoes in a large mixing bowl.
Pour half of the vinaigrette over the tomatoes. Toss to combine.
Arrange tomatoes in the center of a serving platter and drizzle additional vinaigrette over top, if desired. Arrange avocado slices around the tomatoes in a single or double layer.
Garnish the entire dish with crumbled feta and chopped fresh parsley. Alternatively, you can simply toss everything together and pour into a bowl or onto a plate.****

*gluten free if possible
**or cherry tomatoes
***or crumbled goat cheese or sliced halloumi
****serve as a side dish with roasted chicken, a hearty white fish, or grilled tofu kebabs

Tomato medley with halloumi

For ➋ as a salad or for ➍ as a starter
1 fresh red chilli
½ bunch fresh basil
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
600 g mixed cherry tomatoes
250 g halloumi cheese
1 large beefsteak tomato
for the dressing:
2 yellow tomatoes
2 orange tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic

Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
For the dressing, place the tomatoes and garlic on a baking tray and roast for 15 m, or until soft.
Deseed and finely slice the chilli and pick and tear up the basil, reserving a few baby leaves for garnish.
Once roasted, pop the tomatoes in a blender and squeeze in the soft garlic flesh, then blitz until smooth.
Add a few swigs of oil, a splash of balsamic and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, blitz again and check the seasoning, then set aside.
Roughly chop the cherry tomatoes, then place in a bowl and dress with oil, the chilli and torn basil.
Slice up the halloumi, then hit it with some black pepper.
Preheat a large non-stick pan over a medium heat, then add the halloumi in a single layer so most of the slices are touching – you want to create a doily effect with a few gaps.
Cook for 4 to 5 m, or until golden and starting to melt together, then carefully flip over with a fish slice. If it breaks, don’t worry, it will all melt back together.
Once golden on both sides, slide it onto a serving board.
Finely slice the beef tomato and lay the slices on top of the halloumi.
Tip over the dressed tomatoes over and scatter with the reserved basil leaves.
Take to the table with the tomato and roast garlic dressing to drizzle over before serving.

Greek grilled vegetables with halloumi

For ➍
250 g mushrooms
1 red chilli, seeded & quartered
2 zucchini, chopped
1 small red onion, peeled & sliced
2 small eggplants, roughly chopped
6 tomatoes, halved
4 cloves garlic
9 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
8 tbs balsamico vinegar
2 tbs sugar
juice of 2 lemons
500 g halloumi cheese, cut into 0.5 cm slices*
½ small bunch basil
salt & pepper

Heat oven to 180°C.

Place the chilli, zucchini, mushrooms, onion, eggplant and garlic in an oven-proof roasting pan. Drizzle with a third of the olive oil and half the vinegar.

Place the halved tomatoes face up in another oven-proof pan. Sprinkle with the sugar, salt and pepper and drizzle with another third of olive oil and the rest of the vinegar. Place both pans in the oven and roast for thirty minutes, turning vegetables occasionally.

5 m before vegetables are ready, heat the remaining oil in a large skillet. When sizzling, let the halloumi slices slide in and sear quickly (2 m a side).

Combine dish and dot with basil.

Serve with bread.

*Obviously you can omit the halloumi. Or serve with grilled fish or chicken.

Read more halloumi recipes: red sparkled halloumi or a recipe for balsamic roasted vegetables.

Papaya & halloumi watercress salad

For ➍
salad:
200-250 g halloumi, sliced
1 ts ghee*
1 medium punnet of cherry or baby plum tomatoes, halved
4 huge handfuls of watercress
1 medium red onion, finely sliced
1 medium ripe papaya or half a large one
1 large ripe black skin avocado, flesh scooped out & sliced
1 handful of pine nuts, or substitute pumpkin/sunflower seeds
dressing:
extra virgin olive oil
raw apple cider vinegar or lime or lemon juice
sea salt & black pepper
a squeeze of raw runny honey

Take a large flat serving dish and distribute the watercress (you can roughly snip into the stems a little for slightly more elegant eating).
Scatter the tomatoes, onion and avocado over the bed of watercress and sprinkle on a touch of sea salt if desired.
Gently toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan and set aside.
Halve the papaya and scoop out the seeds.
Using a flattish spoon, scoop out thick slivers of the papaya flesh and pile onto the salad. If you're struggling to make it look nice then try slicing or cubing the fruit.
Ask everyone to be seated as this salad is best consumed when the halloumi is hot from the griddle/pan.
Heat the ghee to a high temperature in a large frying pan and lay down the halloumi slices without overcrowding (you might have to do this in batches if your pan is too small).
Fry the halloumi for approximately a minute on each side until each piece takes on a golden brown colour.*
Lay them across the salad.
At the table, sprinkle over the pine nuts, drizzle over a generous amount of olive oil, a squeeze of honey, a splash of vinegar and a good grinding of black pepper.

*or you could grill/griddle the halloumi.

Fennel & halloumi salad

For ➍
1 large fennel, thinly sliced
halloumi cheese, sliced
coriander
olive oil
butter
salt &pepper

Braise the fennel slices in some butter. Add pepper.
Bake the halloumi in olive oil.
Put some fennel slices on a plate, add the halloumi. Finish with torn coriander leaves and a dripping of olive oil.
Serve luke-warm or cold.

Pasta salad with grilled halloumi & asparagus

For ➍
500 g penne
400 g halloumi cheese
250 g cherry tomatoes
500 g white asparagus
6 spring onions, sliced finely
80 g rucola
a bunch of basil
50 g sun-dried tomatoes
pepper & coarse salt
tomated cold sauce:
10 cl yogurt
100 g Parmigiano cheese, grated
2 eggs
1 clove of garlic, peeled
juice of ½ lemon
40 g tomato paste
1 tbs (sharp ) mustard
1.5 dl peanut oil
a dash of Worcester sauce
few drops of Tabasco
salt

Bring a large quantity of water to a boil in a large pot. Add a pinch of salt.
Cook the penne al dente. [Read tip]. Drain. Plunge in a colander and cool under running cold water.
Put the pasta in a large mixing bowl.
Peel the asparagus. Remove ends.
Fill a pot with enough cold water and add a pinch of salt.
Place the asparagus in cold water. Heat the pot over medium heat and bring the water up to boiling point. When the water bubbles, put the fire out. Keep the asparagus in the warm water for 5-10 m. [Or use microwave].
Drain the vegetables to drain on a clean cloth or paper towel. set aside.
Separate the eggs and put the yolks in a tall mixing cup. Discard the egg whites.  Add a little spicy mustard, and a  clove of garlic.
Add the lemon juice and a tiny splash of water.
Blend the ingredients with a mixer. Trickle the oil in until you are left with a hefty amount of bound mayonnaise.
Add the yogurt and mix. Add the tomato puree, with a dash of English and a few drops of Tabasco sauce. Add the Parmigiano and mix.
Spoon some of the dressing over the cold pasta and mix to cover all pasta.
Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Add the finely diced onion and tomato wedges into the bowl with pasta and sauce.
Cut the drained sun-dried tomatoes into thin strips.
Rinse the rucola and basilicum.  Sprinkle the torn basil and sun-dried tomato pieces on top of the pasta salad. Add some pepper from the mill and some coarse salt.
Mix the pasta salad and put them in a large serving bowl.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the asparagus.
Cut the solid halloumi into slices about 1 cm wide. Move the asparagus and halloumi to the hot  BBQ grill of grill pan. Turn the slices of halloumi after 1 m. Remove the asparagus when they have some colour.
Cut the grilled asparagus in 3-4equal pieces. Divide the grilled halloumi into bite-sized chunks.
Arrange the pieces of grilled cheese and asparagus pieces on top of the pasta salad and serve immediately. Put the rest of the sauce on the table.

Grilled halloumi & quinoa salad

For ➋ (as main dish) or ➍ (as side dish)
2 ts red wine vinegar
½ ts sugar
1 small clove garlic, chopped
⅛ ts red pepper flakes
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 Persian cucumber or ½ regular cucumber, peeled & diced
1 scallion, chopped
100 g quinoa, rinsed & drained
20 cl water
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
½ lemon
4 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbs chopped mint
3 handfulls of lettuce leaves, arugula, or other salad greens
200-250 halloumi cheese, cut into 8 slices

In a medium bowl, whisk together red wine vinegar, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a dash of salt and pepper. Add cucumber and scallion and toss to combine. Cover and let stand.
Place quinoa and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat. Simmer for about 15 m, or until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 m. Fluff quinoa with a fork and spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil and 2 ts lemon juice. Add cooled quinoa, parsley, mint, and lettuce to the bowl and toss to coat.
Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium heat (no oil) and grill the halloumi until golden, about 2 ms on each side. When done, squeeze a little lemon juice over the cheese.
Arrange quinoa salad on 2 plates and top with the halloumi and cucumbers (without liquid).
Serve with a glass of iced tea.

*Add a stock cube.
**Make up to a day ahead and refrigerate. Add the lettuce and grill the halloumi just before serving.

Red sparkled halloumi

For ➍
2 fresh red peppers, seeded & chopped*
4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
500 g halloumi, cut into 0.5 cm slices
juice of ¼ lemon

Mix the peppers and oil.

Meanwhile bake the cheese without fat for 2 m a side.

Spread on a plate. Pour chilied oil over it and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Serve with a salad** and bread.

*Use 1 ts of red chili powder instead.
**Combine with grilled vegetables for a main dish.

Halloumi is a delicious Cypriot cheese that can be baked or grilled without melting. The name derives from the Arabic 'halum', 'being mild'. So treat it that way.
A more elaborate version with chilli sauce.
More halloumi recipes: Greek grilled vegetables (with halloumi)